Yams with orange juice and brown sugar

These candied sweet potatoes are like dessert with a thick syrupy sauce made from orange juice, brown sugar, and butter. Top them with marshmallows and bake a few minutes to toast. Perfection!

The perfect make-ahead candied sweet potatoes

In my opinion, the best Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes are classic and easy, and they tolerate being made a day or two ahead of time with no loss of flavor or texture.

This is one of those recipes.

Depending on how things are going with cleaning (and how much room there is in my refrigerator), I will either peel and pre-cut the sweet potatoes the night before or cook the whole dish the night before, stopping just before adding the marshmallows.

It reheats beautifully, so it really doesn't make any difference to the finished dish. When I make it ahead, I simply cover the whole thing and put it in the fridge, then on the morning of the holiday, I bring it out, put it in the microwave for five or so minutes to heat everything up, and then I cover it with mini marshmallows and pop it in the oven for ten minutes to toast them.

About half the time, I forget to take it out and the marshmallows melt into the syrup. Oh well. Toasted marshmallows always sound nice, but no one cares either way.

Well, maybe the kids care. But for as much as they eat, they'll get over it.

The perfect day-of candied yams

Now, all that said, our family has shrunk significantly and we now cook for only 6 people including our two children. So. I don't make much of anything ahead anymore. It's simply easier to do the cooking once and on the morning of the holiday.

What I do these days is peel and cut up the potatoes on the morning of the holiday, prepare the sauce, pour over the potatoes, and microwave. It takes less than 15 minutes from start to microwave, so I don't sweat doing it ahead of time.

After that, it's the same. I microwave until the potatoes are tender, then I cover them with marshmallows and put them in the already hot oven to toast. And then usually I forget to take them out and the marshmallows all melt into the sauce.

What you'll need to make candied yams with orange juice and marshmallows

Ingredients

• 4 large sweet potatoes, cleaned and peeled - Long, skinny sweet potatoes are easier to cut into slices and then quarter slices. If you are going to cut them into cubes, you could use bigger, fatter ones.
• ½ stick of melted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar - I think brown sugar really matters, but if you don't want to use it, you could substitute an equal amount of maple syrup.
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1½ tablespoons pumpkin pie spice - Or to taste.
• 1 large bag of mini marshmallows - These are optional, but I think the dish is a lot better if you use them. The first handful will melt into the sauce. Then, just before finishing the dish, you'll add the remaining marshmallows and toast them in the oven.

How to make candied sweet potatoes with orange juice and marshmallows

1. The night before your meal, clean, peel, and chunk the sweet potatoes. I like to leave mine in bigger-than-bite-sized chunks. Place the cut up potatoes in a large baking dish. Use a dish big enough that the potatoes are mostly in a single layer.
2. Combine butter, brown sugar, and orange juice in a mixing bowl. Pour sugar mixture over potatoes. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and top with a handful of miniature marshmallows, which will melt into the sauce.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. If you're making ahead, allow the potatoes to cool and refrigerate until it's time to serve. If not, just move on to the next step.
4. To serve: Top with remaining marshmallows and bake at 375 for 10 minutes (20 minutes if chilled), until the potatoes are hot and marshmallow topping is just toasted.

   Sweet Potato Casserole with Orange Juice

   

   Ingredients

   For the Sweet Potatoes:
   3 Large Sweet potatoes (around 3lbs.)
   1/2 cup Natalie’s Orange Juice
   1/2 cup Brown Sugar
   1/4 cup (4 tbsp.) Unsalted butter, melted
   1 tsp. Cinnamon
   1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
   Zest of 1 orange

   For the Casserole Topping:
   1 cup Pecan pieces
   5 tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted
   1/3 cup Flour
   1/4 cup Brown sugar

   Directions

   (Yields 8 Servings)

   1. Heat oven to 400°F. Pierce all sides of each sweet potato with fork.
   2. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, & bake in the oven for an hour or so, or until soft. Remove from oven & allow to cool.
   3. Once cooled, peel the baked sweet potatoes, & place in a large mixing bowl. Mash slightly with a fork or potato masher.
   4. Add orange juice, brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg & orange zest into the bowl.
   5. Use a hand mixer to combine all ingredients & to make the potatoes slightly fluffy.
   6. Heat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, make the pecan topping.
   7. In a small bowl, combine the pecan pieces, melted butter, flour & brown sugar.
   8. Toss until the pecans are evenly coated with the mixture.
   9. Spread the sweet potato mixture into a casserole dish. Top with the pecan topping & bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until pecans are golden brown. Serve warm.

   Recipe By: Sarah Hearts

    

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   Do you put orange juice in candied yams?

   Add sugar, orange juice and cinnamon; mix well. Cook 5 min. or until mixture comes to boil and sugar is completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Pour over yams; cover. Bake 30 min.

   Do you need to poke holes in yams before baking?

   After rinsing and scrubbing, poke holes into the sweet potato with a large fork. This step enables them to release any excess moisture while baking in the oven. It is optional, but you can also drizzle a little oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper over each one if you'd like to eat the skin.

   What brings out the flavor of sweet potatoes?

   While sweet potatoes taste delicious with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper, a little extra seasoning really elevates the flavor. If you're looking to add a warming, savory vibe to this recipe try roasting with a blend of cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

   Are orange sweet potatoes and yams the same thing?

   That sweet, orange-colored root vegetable that you love so dearly is actually a sweetpotato. Yes, all so-called “yams” are in fact sweetpotatoes. Most people think that long, red-skinned sweetpotatoes are yams, but they really are just one of many varieties of sweetpotatoes.